Forever's Scottish Seduction Tour: Interview and Giveaway with Margaret Mallory and Sue-Ellen Welfonder

Today I would like to welcome to RFTC authors Margaret Mallory and Sue-Ellen Welfonder. Both authors are currently on tour celebrating the release of the books The Chieftain and Seduction of a Highland Warrior and have stopped by to answer a few questions. Please give both ladies a warm welcome.

Margaret Mallory abandoned a career as a lawyer to become a romance novelist. Why this surprised everyone, she doesn't know. Who wouldn't rather have thrilling adventures with handsome Highlanders than write briefs and memos? Margaret lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, a goofy dog, and a crabby cat.

Places to find Margaret:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

A la Twitter style, please describe your book in 140 characters or less.
Whew, here’s my whole book in a 140 character tweet:

Ilysa loves her chieftain from afar. 2 save the clan, he must make a powerful marriage alliance. What can a hero do when luv & duty collide?

What types of scenes are your most favorite/difficult to write?
My favorite scenes to write are the ones that make me weep over my laptop. Seriously. If I’m making myself cry, then I know it’s a good scene.

The hardest scenes to write are the first few in the book. I need to captivate my reader, immerse her in my story, and do it all very quickly. Adding to my troubles, I don’t know my characters as well as I will later in the book.

If you could have dinner with any three authors (alive or dead), who would you choose and why?
Shakespeare because he is witty and brilliant.

Diana Gabaldon because she wrote one of my all-time favorite books, Outlander, with one of my all-time favorite heroes, Jamie Fraser.

The last one is hard because I’ve met so many romance authors at conferences and other events that I would love to have dinner with. I’ll say Kristan Higgans because she was such a sweetie to me when she hardly knew me, and she’s funny, too.

Four fearless warriors return to the Highlands to claim their lands and legacies. But all their trials on the battlefield can't prepare them for their greatest challenge yet: winning the hearts of four willful Scottish beauties.

A WARRIOR'S HEART

Connor, chieftain of the MacDonalds of Sleat, holds the fate of his people in his hands. Rival clans are plotting to take over his lands, and duty determines whom he will fight, trust . . . even marry. Seeking guidance, Connor turns to Ilysa, a young lass with the gift of foresight, who reveals an approaching danger-and a passion that burns only for him. But the warrior must make a powerful marriage alliance, and Ilysa's bloodline is far too humble.

With her powers to heal and see evil where others cannot, beautiful Ilysa dresses plainly, speaks softly, and loves her chieftain from afar. Yet when Connor finally stokes the embers of desire that have so long burned within her, Ilysa feels bliss unlike any she's ever known. Now as he is forced to place duty before happiness, Ilysa senses Connor is in grave peril. Can she find a way to prove she is the woman he needs by his side?

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

Check out the Return of the Highlanders series:

Click for info.

Sue-Ellen Welfonder is a Scotophile whose burning wish to make frequent trips to the land of her dreams led her to a twenty-year career with the airlines. Now a full-time writer, she’s quick to admit that she much prefers wielding a pen to pushing tea and coffee. She never watches television, loves haggis, and writes at a 450-year-old desk that once stood in a Bavarian castle.

Places to find Sue-Ellen:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter |

I’m delighted to be here today to chat about a few things dear to my heart: my books, writing, and my love of reading. What a great way to wrap up the blog tour!

A la Twitter style, please describe your book in 140 characters or less.
What fun! I love Twitter, so this was easy:

“A Highland chieftain risks all for the woman he loves, but their forbidden passion could destroy them.”

What types of scenes are your most favorite/difficult to write?
Medieval battle scenes are what I love best. I really enjoy writing them. I’m fascinated by medieval warfare and weaponry, even collecting swords, dirks, shields, and what-not. For example, a beautiful claymore hangs near my fireplace and a full-sized knight in shining armor (with sword) watches over my dining room table. He has pride of place on a ledge high above my dining area, which has a lovely atrium.

Love scenes are my least favorite. I can’t stand ‘sex for sex’s sake,’ so I want to be sure that when the hero and heroine become closer, everything happens naturally. Intimacy and desire must fit the flow of the story. It should only happen when the characters are ready. It’s also important to include emotion and something crucial that moves the story forward. Just having body parts doing this or that is wasted ink. When pleasure reading, I often skim or skip love scenes. If a love scene can be removed and not be missed in the storyline, the sex doesn’t belong in there. More has to happen than lovemaking.

If you could have dinner with any three authors (alive or dead), who would you choose and why?
Great question! I’d love to note a few writing friends, but there are more than three and I do not want to slight anyone. So I’ll go with sadly-no-longer-with-us writers.

Above all, Anya Seton. Her incredible historical, Katherine, is my all-time favorite romance. I love everything she wrote. Her amazing Green Darkness is another fave. Green Darkness is a reincarnation novel. As I believe in reincarnation and Seton did as well, I’d have dearly loved a quiet dinner with her. To speak of mystic things and loving the past.

Two other choices would be Victoria Holt and Daphne DuMaurier. I devoured their gothics as a young girl and fell in love with their ability to create truly atmospheric settings. I pleasure read mainly to be swept away to another time and place. (I’m not so keen on modern times) Their books immersed me in the world of their stories, whisking me to magnificent cliff-top manor homes where the sea pounds the rocks below and wild, windswept moors stretch bleak and lonely behind, full of darkness, mist, and danger. Both ladies were master wordsmiths and obviously great lovers of atmosphere. So I would enjoy speaking with them about a shared passion for wild, empty places and echoing old houses, full of secrets and shadow. What a treat such a dinner would be.

Thank you so much for inviting me here. And thanks for such unique questions.

Highland Blessings!
Sue-Ellen Welfonder

The third book in the Highland Warriors trilogy…
Three proud warriors locked in a struggle for victory.
Three beguiling women united in their vow to restore peace.

At the King’s request, chieftain Alasdair MacDonald has sworn to preserve the peace in the Glen of Many Legends. Though he’s handsome and fearless, his warrior’s heart belongs only to his beloved land—until the fair sister of his oldest enemy shatters his defenses, branding his skin with a single touch, and sealing his fate with one stolen kiss . . .

Lady Marjory Mackintosh will do anything to unite the warring clans, even seduce Alasdair MacDonald. She has loved the rugged Highlander since she first saw him and now, as temptation leads to surrender, Marjory dares to possess him, body and soul. But a dangerous new menace enters the Glen, and he will stop at nothing to strip Alasdair of his honor—and the only woman who can claim his heart.

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

Check out the Highland Warrior series: 

Click for info. 

2 lucky commenters will win a copy of The Chieftain and Seduction of a Highland Warrior 

To Enter:

• Please leave a comment answering the question: What is your favorite thing about Scottish themed romances?
• US ONLY, NO PO Boxes
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck =)

a Rafflecopter giveaway